Thursday, March 4, 2010

This was originally posted last March, but since I don't have a new video to show today, I decided to rerun this great stew recipe in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy!

Hey guys, if your cooking dinner for that special someone on St. Patrick's Day, I'd go with this sexy stew over the more traditional corned beef and cabbage. I love both dishes, but boiled cabbage is more of a married couples thing.

Irish stew is a much more date-friendy recipe. You can sit and relax while this aromatic stew simmers, and won't have to worry about saying things like, "by the way, that's the cabbage."

Pay attention to the cut of lamb used in this video recipe. I used lamb shoulder chops, which are a fantastic value, when you consider flavor, useable meat, and price.

They will probably be the cheapest lamb at the store, have more flavor and richness than leg meat, and are cheaper than shanks and loins. It takes a while for the meat to braise and fall off the bone, but it's a wait rewarded with tender, succulent chucks of lamb.

I'd like to apologize to all the Irish dark beer fans that will undoubtedly be disappointed that I didn't add the obligatory bottle of Guinness. I kind of prefer my Irish stew without the stout, although I will admit it does add an interesting flavor component that many swear by. Also, since I don't drink dark beer, so I always feel bad breaking up a six-pack to just buy the one bottle. The cashier always gives me that, "what's this guy's deal?" look. Yes, I have issues.

I received an email complaining that my corned beef video could have benefited from some Irish music, so I splurged and purchased a Chieftains medley called, O Murchu' Hornpipe/Sliabh Geal gCua na Feile/The Wandering Minstrel. Whatever Irish folk music lacks in commercial viability, it totally makes up for in song title length. Enjoy!

38 comments:

I'm having a cooking nightmare right now! My house is getting renovated right now so I am staying at a hotel. I started on the ciabatta yesterday at 1... left it in my kitchen and came back this morning at around 11 during my break at school. Unfortunately I had to go back to class and couldn't come back again until 2 (longer than the 2 hours, i know :( ). The first thing I did when I came home was put the bread in the oven and set the timer for 40 minutes. I came back 40 minutes later, excited to take photos and send them to you... and *GASP*! I found out my oven was disconnected during the renovation!! The bread was uncooked but the whole place smelt like gas. Apparently, NONE of my neighbors are home at this hour. Finally one came home and out of desperation I asked to use her oven, even though I've never spoken to her before! How embarrassing.

Was it okay to have the bread sitting for so much longer than it was supposed to? I really hope it turns out okay! Guess I'll find out in 20 minutes..

Oh Cat, I know what you're going through! I was a stress ball trying to make bread. I made one pretty successful loaf, then failed twice. I need to give it another try, and this time have a glass (or a bottle of wine) while I'm making it.

I wish I could get different cuts of lamb here in this culinary vacuum that is the Space Coast. The local ethnic butcher (the only butcher for many many miles) always tells me, "Lamb? We have shank, no other cut. Try goat, it's same."

I am going to try this with beef shoulder though. I've been wanting a good Irish stew for a while, so I'm looking forward to it. Maybe one day we'll get lamb in this foodie-black-hole-of-a-town :-)

Music great, Irish you'd played it during your corned beef video.I have lots of stock left over from my corned beef and cabbage. I did strain it so it is clear and very tasty. Seems such a waste to not use it. Can I use that stock instead of the chicken broth for the lamb stew or would it give too much of the corned beef and cabbage flavor?

That looks so good! I almost wish I didn't decide on doing your shepherd's pie recipe so I could make this :)

BTW, the shepherd's pie came out awesome! My hubby tucked right in and his immediate reaction was a muffled "mmmm goood" with a thumbs up. The grocery store didn't have the dressing you used so I substituted with ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Yum!

Nice recipe, but I like the beer in my stew. They say the beer helps tenderizing the meat slowing the total cooking time. While I see the logic behind, not so sure in the end it does anything unless you marinate the meat first with the beer.

This was a wonderful meal. I found a clean cast iron dutch oven to make it in, so I didn't even have to do any dishes. (My kitchen is a mess.) I was short on stock, so I added some Stout beer. As a side, I blanched some cabbage, and then sauteed it in brown butter. With hunks of bread on the side - which I tore apart rather than look for a knife in the bottom of the sink.

And afterward, my wonderful partner actually got busy doing the dishes. While I read a book.

Just before St Pat's Day I went to a concert featuring two touring Irish bands, and Chef John, if you think the song titles are long... you should hear the stories of how the song came to be! Every piece of music had a 10 min. intro! Love my Celtic, and the brough, so listening to these tales was as much fun as hearing the music.

Thanks for this awesome recipe! I ended up using a pressure cooker so I adjusted the amount of stock / water down a little, simply because the ingredients would release some of their water. But I never knew that something so simple could taste so good. It really warmed up everyone's cold winter evening here.

Chef John, you are simply amazing! thanks for the easy and delicious recipes. question for you John. what is the main difference between nonstick pans and stainless steal pans? I've noticed that you are using two different types of pans... and i was wondering which kind of pan i should purchase for my future cookings. at the moment, i only have Tetal nonstick pans.thanks in advance.

Pyrofish, I live on the Space Coast too. I've never had a problem finding "non-common" ingredients here. You know Publix can get you pretty much any type of meat cut you need, right? And they do carry lamb (at least the one near me does). They'll also order food for you if you can't find it in the store. I personally hate lamb, but if I can find buffalo burgers here, then surely you can find lamb shoulder.

Chef John, before hitting play on this demo, I thought to myself that it would be cooked in a way very similar to your Arroz con Pollo. In that demo, you brown the chicken, immediately deglaze the pan with stock and meanwhile start cooking the onions separately in the pot.

But for this stew, why did you transfer the lamb to the pot first and then deglaze the pan with onions and stock rather than simply deglazing the pan immediately like in the pollo?

I've made this stew with lamb and beef as well. My folks love this so much!!! What im looking forward from you is a rich fruit cake with flour not the christmassy-just-fruits-cake type :) Hope u make one out sooon...Hey Chef John i just love it when u finally say "as always..ENJOY" and i ALWAYS say it with you...LOL

I just made this for dinner and WOW!! Truly delicious and I'm sure it is the simplicity of your AWESOME recipe. Just a bit of seasoning lets all the flavors shine - in particular the lamb. This is my first time trying one of your recipes even though you have been cracking me up in your videos for a long time :)Thanks so much for sharing you recipes and talents in the kitchen!

I made this last night for a dinner party. It was amazing! Thank you Chef John for the recipe. We used local well raised meat and it was amazing! I did forget to put in the green onions because I was so excited to eat it!

Didn't have lamb on hand so I used Pork Tenderloin. It worked really great. Tenderloin was juicy, tender, and extra delicious from rubbing it in a spicy brown mustard and a green curry paste before pan searing. YUM! it made the broth full of wonder and joy.

Didn't have lamb on hand so I used Pork Tenderloin. It worked really great. Tenderloin was juicy, tender, and extra delicious from rubbing it in a spicy brown mustard and a green curry paste before pan searing. YUM! it made the broth full of wonder and joy.

Loved your Irish Lamb Stew video! My kids now think I'm a God in the Kitchen. I'm actually a novice to the culunary world. I must say that your instructions were easy to follow, thus the final product was amazing. This is my first of many more Food Wishes recipes. Keep them coming.

Hello again Chef John, I made this dish last night, meat was soooo tender and yummy the only problem was my dish was a little salty but that had nothing to do with you or your recipe, it was all me, I tend to be a little heavy handed. Just wanted to let you know you everyday I look forward to cooking, I cruise your site planning the next meal. Tonight its the Chicken parmesan casserole.

Delishishness! I haven't really experimented with Lamb before and our commissary had some the same day I found this recipe so of course I bought it. My wife and I were very happy with the results. The next day, I was pining for some good old fashioned sourdough like I grew up on but there is none here. I had some leftover crusty dinner rolls so I hallowed them out and served the stew inside...WOW! That was good and would be so much better with some Boudin sourdough.

I am going to make this for a party, because it looks so perfect! How many servings does it make? Also, would a parsnip be a nice addition? I might need to stretch it a bit with more vegetables. Thanks!